COLD WATER. BIG STORIES. SHARED COURAGE.

with special guest

FREE and Open to All!

Just beyond the Golden Gate, where San Francisco’s edge frays into the Pacific, a small community of swimmers enters the ocean again and again. Not for records. Not for spectacle. But for connection—to the water, to one another, and to something wilder than daily life usually allows.

On March 26, we’re welcoming Steve Peletz—filmmaker, research diver, and storyteller—who will discuss his short film , an intimate portrait of Bay Area swimmers who brave 51-degree water and unpredictable conditions off China Beach. The film has been selected for screening at the International Ocean Film Festival, and we’re lucky enough to have the director join us for the night.

Steve’s path to this film spans more than 3,000 research dives across the Pacific—from kelp forests and coral reefs to mangroves and remote offshore pinnacles—working alongside scientists tagging sharks and tracking migratory species. Trained as a research diver at UC Berkeley, he’s also a gifted storyteller, translating fieldwork into narratives that connect people to the sea.

Steve will invite some of the Lands End swimmers themselves to share what draws them into cold, moving water—and what they’ve found there. From that intimate starting point, the evening will open outward into a broader conversation about ocean storytelling, risk and reward, attention and awe, and how direct experiences with the sea can quietly but powerfully reshape how we show up for it.

This is a story about choosing discomfort over numbness. About finding novelty not by going farther, but by going deeper into a place you thought you already knew. And about how connection—earned, shared, and repeated—can become its own form of conservation.

“I am hopeful because over the last 50 years, humans are paying more attention to their impacts on our ocean. Public concern is beginning to catch up, but we have to keep fighting. Hope is not a substitute for action—it’s a necessary part of an action plan."
—Steve Peletz

Join us March 26, 7–8pm at Faction Brewing for an evening of film, first-person stories, and ocean perspective that starts close to home and ripples outward.

Bring friends. Bring curiosity. Bring your willingness to feel a little cold, a little awe, and a lot more connected.

The ocean is closer than you think—and it’s already inviting you in.

About Ocean Hoptimism

Ocean Hoptimism is a free, monthly Bay Area series that spotlights stories of ocean resilience, hope, and action — all served with a side of craft beer and community connection. Hosted in partnership with Faction Brewing in Alameda, Ocean Hoptimism brings together ocean champions, storytellers, and community builders who believe that optimism isn’t just a feeling — it’s a force for change and essential fuel for ocean conservation. Our vision is to build a movement rooted in possibility, resilience, and a shared commitment to a thriving ocean future. Join us every fourth Thursday of the month at Faction Brewingfor a new, inspirational Ocean Hoptimism speaker!

www.oceanhoptimism.org

Thursday, March 26, 2026
7:00 - 8:00 PM PDT

Faction Brewing, Alameda, CA

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